1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a tool for cracking and opening ampoules and other glass containers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous ampoule-breaking devices are known in the prior art for breaking open ampoules and vials of the type widely used in the medical industry. U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,487 to Murray, U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,838 to Szemere et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,319 to Ray et al., disclose a variety of ampoule breaking devices for cracking ampoule and other containers.
The '487 patent to Murray discloses an ampoule breaker that is snapped over an ampoule tip and held in a desired location with a collar flush against a top of an ampoule body, a stiff ring fulcrum support surrounds a score line in the neck of an ampoule wherein the ampoule tip is closely surrounded by a plurality of locating ribs. When the ampoule tip is broken away from the ampoule body by rotating the breaker to one side of the ampoule, the tip is thrown away and the ampoule body is retained for further use.
The '838 patent to Szemere et al. discloses an ampoule opener which comprises a body having a row of holes of different sizes, extending along an edge of the body, to receive ampoule heads of different sizes. An ampoule head is inserted into a selected hole and is snapped off wherein the ampoule body is retained for further use.
The '319 patent to Ray et. al. discloses a device for breaking an ampoule which includes a pair of legs connected at one end to receive the ampoule therebetween. The legs have a neck engaging surfaces on an inner side of the legs to engage with the neck portions of the ampoule to break the ampoule.
In addition to the prior art patents, cited above, U.S. Pat. No. D188,593 shows a design of a household tool for cleaning food mixer bowls and beaters. The household tool shows a spatula that includes a tool for cleaning a flat parts, wherein the tool is disposed at a distal end of the spatula. The tool has two non-movable arms with a slot therebetween to receive the flat part and for cleaning the same.
In the medical field, bone cement is used as a casting and grouting material to implant prosthetic devices into live bone. Bone cement may be made from a cement powder, such as polymethyl methacrylate and the like. The cement powder is mixed with a monomer liquid, such as methyl methacrylate, and other liquids to form a homogeneous bone cement mixture. It is very important to physically mix the dry cement powder and liquid to bring the liquid into contact with the cement powder in order to receive a homogeneous mixture.
Bone cement with an insufficient amount of monomer liquid sets up extremely fast and reduces the already short amount of time available to a surgeon to perform a procedure which requires an application of the bone cement. That is why it is very important to use a tool that may be highly efficient and helpful during surgery.
Known to be hectic and intense, an operating room environment requires certain steps of treatment to be performed quickly. Placing dry components into a mixing container then utilizing an ampoule breaking device to open an ampoule and finally reaching for a spatula to mix the components may take a long time, especially in complicated surgeries. Therefore, there is a need in the medical art for a universal instrument which will comprise several tools, one of which is an ampoule cracker.